State of the Nation: PDP, Sultan Issue Buhari Yellow Card

 

Orji Daniels

President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded for more time to tackle the myriads of problems facing the country, noting that his government has performed well in the face of seeming challenges since it came to power in 2015.

But, the opposition PDP in response, said the president must buckle up and stop making excuses for his failures. The president made the comment on Thursday, in an obvious response to many Nigerians who believe that his government has failed to tackle the problems facing the country.

Also, the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III yesterday challenged President Buhari and governors to bring insecurity in the country to an end.

The Sultan, who is the spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims as leader of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, said during his  Eid prayer that all the political leaders in the country must wake up to their responsibilities.

Buhari, who spoke when the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Rev. Yakubu Pam, visited him in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the economy, infrastructure and security were in a very bad shape by the time he came to power six years ago. He said those criticising him have failed to consider areas where his government has recorded tremendous achievements.

The President said: “Those criticising the administration should be fair in terms of reflecting on where we were before we came, where we are now and what resources are available to us and what we have done with the limited resources.   “We had to struggle paying debts, investing in road repairs and rebuilding, to revamp the rail and try to get power. This is what I hope the elite, when they want to criticise will use to compare notes.”

On the security situation Buhari said “What was the situation when we came? Try and ask people from Borno or from Adamawa for that matter and Yobe. What was the condition before we came and what is the condition now?” He, however, said the government is not unawares of the insecurity in some part of the country, assuring that such will be dealt with.

“Still, there are problems in Borno and Yobe, there are occasional Boko Haram problems, but they know the difference  because a lot of them moved out of their states and moved to Kaduna, Kano and here (in Abuja). We were not spared of the attacks at a time. The government is doing its best and I hope that eventually, our best will be good enough.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP has responded to the president’s plea for understanding, saying that Buhari’s efforts in tackling insecurity have obviously not paid off, considering the current situation in the country.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this on Thursday, noting that Nigerians are facing the worst situation as a result of government’s failure to tackle problems facing the country.

He said, “We note the appeal by President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigerians to show more understanding for his regime’s lethargic approach to governance. It is obvious his best is so far not enough; Nigerians are hungry and dying.

“We also invite him to also note that Nigerians are getting tired of an endless stream of excuses coming from his regime. He was elected to find solutions to problems not give excuses.

“We urge Mr President to wake up from his lethargy and address problems. Blaming the past has been the favourite sound bite of this regime since 2015. The other day, a minister was blaming the General Murtala Mohammed regime of 1975/’76 for Nigeria’s security problems. We can’t make progress this way.”

The Sultan of Sokoto said:  “We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, and all the state governors to, as a matter of urgency, bring to an end insecurity across the country.

“As our leaders, you should continue to remain resolute and more committed to your various responsibilities of protecting the society.

“Therefore, you should enhance your commitment toward the restoration of the peaceful nature our country was long known for.”